Saturday 14 February 2009

A bit more about... injuries

I’m really hoping that this is advice you never have to put into practice!

Avoiding injury in the first place
There’s a great piece of advice from Runners World magazine – “don’t let a niggle become an injury”. Ensure that you warm up, cool down and stretch properly every time you run. Also check your speed – you should be able to talk (breathily perhaps!). Risk assess your route – look out for obstacles and slippery sections – tripping over kerbs is quite common. And take care crossing roads.

If your feet or legs are hurting, it could be worth going to a specialist running shop to get some advice – which might result in new trainers. If pavements in your area have strong cambers, avoid a loop where you are always on the same slope – try crossing over. Concrete pavements are harder than asphalt so less foot-friendly.

Don’t train every day – rest days allow your body to recover. This is also when your muscles actually improve!

RICE
This summarises what to do with a minor injury. Major injuries – for example if you cannot bear weight on an injured leg – require a trip to casualty. Follow RICE for several days. If a minor injury doesn’t improve, go to your GP.

* REST Rest up! When you do start running again, take it really slowly and carefully initially.
* ICE Get a packet of frozen peas & place the whole (unopened) bag onto the injured area and leave for up to 15 minutes. You might want to wrap the bag in a tea towel. Return the peas to the freezer (label them as “not for eating”!). You can repeat this hourly.
* COMPRESSION Pressure can help – tubigrips are a handy way to apply pressure to the injured area.

* ELEVATION Raise the injured area – for example, prop up an injured ankle on the sofa.

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